Omerta
by XxCagedBird
Summary: Titans have reached the safe haven of the walls and humanity seems to be on the verge of extinction. That is until an ancient group of warriors called Slayers come to the walls to find out how the Titans broke through. Now, the Survey Corps seek help from this mysterious group of warriors.
1. Warriors

_Eren managed to control his Titan form to seal up the hole, but now there is a bigger question. How did he become this way? Does the key hold the secrets to saving mankind from genocide? Or there others like him? The Survey Corps must find a way to stop the Titans, and Eren is the answer. The squad of 104__th__ class are lost in the vast land of the closed walls._

* * *

_"Tougher than a lion  
__Ain't no need in tryin'  
__I live where the sky ends  
__Yup, you know this"_

_Rihanna - Hard Lyrics_

* * *

"We lost our formation," Jean said angrily as he moved his horse over to Armin and the others. "If we stay out here, we will die."

Armin only nodded as his blue hues stared at the forest in front of them. It was taunting them, knowing without a stable surface they couldn't use their maneuver gear. "There are no trees to grasp onto if a Titan showed up. We need to find shelter in the forest. Titans can't climb trees."  
Sasha's large purpleish eyes widen at the thought and she swallowed her fears into the pit of her empty stomach. The squad followed Armin's lead as his horse galloped over to the large forest. Despite being in the walls, it felt like being outside into the unknown, it's just as terrifying. The horses were pushed to their limit to reach the large forest. If they can reach the forest, they are safe. If not….

Then, the whole squad turned their head upon a shake from the Earth underneath them. Jean looked to the side to see 10 meter and 13 meter Titans running over to the group.

"TITANS!" Jean shouted causing the group to turn their attention to the creatures.

"What do we do!?" Conny shouted. "We can't take them on without something for our cables to grab onto!"

Armin's blue eyes began to shake from the thought of being eaten. They have come so far, they can't be so easily defeated. Then, his eyes grew focused on the forest. His eyes narrowed and grew focused.

"Keep going to the forest!" he shouted.

The dquad kept their horses directed to the forest but then Jean noticed another horse coming from the other direction from the forest. Perhaps another Scout? The horse grew closer to the group and Jean got a clear look at the figure. It wasn't wearing a green cape like the rest. The figure had short red hair that flowed behind its back and with two swords resting on its back. The horse is much bulker than theirs with multiple bags resting on either side. The figure grabbed both of the swords and held them at either side of its body. The horse grew closer and then Jean saw it was a woman.

"OUT OF MY WAY WALL DWELLERS!" She shouted and the horse moved through the squad. She was heading right for the two Titans at full speed causing Armin to grab his horse reigns, causing the horse to stop.

Jean and the other stopped as well to watch the red head.

"Either she's the bravest woman I've ever seen or the dumbest." Reiner said as he used his hand to block out the sun as he watched the red headed woman.

Armin couldn't take his eyes off her back and Jean looked as well, a symbol was on her back. It was of two swords stabbed into a head. It was unlike any of the military's symbols. Who is she?

Then, Armin pointed to the left of the Titans. "Look!" The squad all turned to watch as another figure appeared over the hills. Another horse was heading right for the running Titans. They are too far away to see who it is. Yet, the figure pulled out a rope and threw the other end at the red head who caught it. The Titans kept running to the figures and Armin's eyes widen. The two figures were positioned on either side of the Titans with the rope directly in front of the Titans.

"They are going to fall," he whispered.

"What!?" Conny shouted and just watched.

Sure enough, the horses kept on either side and the Titans fell over the rope they were holding. The Titans fell harshly onto the grass below, causing the Earth to shake. The figures released the rope but they did not attack. Despite the Titans being on the ground, one tried to grab one of the figures but the figure cut off its fingers with a sword. Then, another figure appeared out of thin air from behind the Titans and in a blink of an eye, the Titans napes were cut off. It happened so quickly, but the Titans were dead.

The figure who cut off their napes flipped in between the other figures. Despite being far away from them, the figure has on a mask over its face. It looked like a shrouded cowl that has a red piece of fabric covering its entire face, even its eyes. Its eyes are completely covered. It killed a Titan without having its vision. The sight struck fear and curiosity into Armin.

A black horse appeared from behind the dead Titans and trots over to the figures. The masked figure hopped onto the horse. The three figures just stand around the two fallen Titans.

Jean's hands tremble as he looked at the three figures. Sasha couldn't believe her eyes and she just whispered to herself, "They went into battle…without fear…but,how?"

Armin stared at the figures who were just standing near the Titans and then kicked his horse on its side, causing the horse to gallop over to them.

"ARMIN!" Reiner shouted causing the others to watch him disappear over to the figures.

The blonde kept his horse directed at the figures and as he grew closer he saw that another figure was a woman. She had a black Mohawk with braids hanging on the shave side of her head. She also had a large scar on the left side of her face from her ear to the corner of her lips. The red head looked over her shoulder to see Armin.

Armin pulled on the reigns of his horse and just stared at the figures. They struck fear into his body from their seer power, but he had to know who they were.

The red head just looked away toward the masked figure who had a small notebook in its hand, writing something down. The dark haired woman only raised a brow at Armin.

"What do you want wall dweller?" She questioned.

Armin felt a lump in his throat and words failed him as he stared at the figures. He got a clear look at the masked figure. It was wearing strange armor made unusual material but it looked like darkness created it. It was also wearing a cape with the same symbol as the other two. However, he noticed the masked person had more weapons than the other two. It a long sword resting on its side, three Tantos on the other side of its body, and it looked like she had smaller weapons on her back but the cape covered them. The masked figure closed the small journal in its gloved hands and looked at the other two.

"Let's keep moving." The masked figure spoke; its voice was muffled but sounded very feminine.

The two women nodded and the red head looked at Armin.

"You should head for cover," she spoke in a softer tone than the dark haired woman. "You will surely be killed if you stay out in the open."

Armin's mouth felt like it was frozen as he stared at the women but finally the ice melted from within him. "Who are you?"

The masked figure walked ahead of the other women and the dark haired woman followed behind it. Yet, the read head smiled only a little at him.

"Slayers," she replied and then followed the other two into the open field.

Armin's eyes widen and his hands gripped to the horse's reigns.

"T….That's….impossible," he whispered to himself. He could hear the gallop of horses behind him and his named being called from the squad, but the shock had overtaken his body from that word. _Slayers._

* * *

Author's Note: Side note if you are a visual reader, the masked figure's armor and mask are from Skyrim since I love the armor desgins. So look up Nightingale Armor. Please review, but if you have nothing nice to say then keep it to yourself. Thank you.


	2. Drawings of the Unknown

"_Crestfallen kings and queens comforting in their faith _

_Unbeknownst to them is the presence of the wraith _

_Since fate of man is equal to the fate of lice _

_As new dawn rises you shalt recognize now behold the Lord Of Flies"_

_-Year Zero, Ghost B.C._

"So, you met a group of women calling themselves Slayers?" Erwin questioned as he placed his hands upon a table with a large map of the walls resting on it. His blue eyes were on Arwin with a displeased expression upon his face. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds due to the fact that Slayers are only a myth?"

The HQ's room's air was of tension and anxiety due to the expedition and the encounter with the female Titan. So many lives were lost, and for what? That question lingered in the room. Levi was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed while Hanji was fidgeting in her chair from the word Slayer. Obviously wanting to know everything about these so called Slayer Amazon like women, she was always a woman with a thirst of knowledge.

Armin swallowed a lump in his throat, peering over his shoulder to see his friends Eren and Mikassa, who were there for mortal support. Eren wasn't there to see the women but from what his friends have told him, it is shocking. Armin pulled out four pieces of drawing paper from underneath his green cape, placing them onto the wooden table in front of Erwin. Levi and Hanji walked over, peering down at all four drawings. Levi picked up a drawing of the attack on the Titans. The drawing showed how the two older women managed to trip the Titans with a chain like weapon while the dark masked figure cut their napes from behind. His silver hues stared at the drawing while Hanji was glancing at all three of the figures.

"Here are some drawings someone drew for me of the women I encountered," Armin affirmed to his superior and the man just stared at the drawings. The first drawings were of the red head who had a mature look to her, as if she was the oldest of the group. She wore a long black cloak covering her entire body with two swords resting on her back, along with the symbol on her cape. Her fire colored hair is ear length, but the artist did not draw her eye color.

The second drawing was of the dark mohawk haired woman who wore heavy armor with the symbol on the chest piece, she had iron mace resting on her side and a sword on the other side. The artist even had a drawing of her face on the side of the paper with the large scar, but the eye colors were neglected like the other.

His blue eyes glanced down at them but his eyes paused at the drawings of the masked figure. The artist drew her entire body, giving her a slender body and small in height. The drawing made the figure look like it was created from the depths of a shadow due to the black cape engulfing its black armored body. The figure had the most weapons than the other two (a long sword on its side, three small Tantos on the other side, along with smaller knives and various types of small weapons). Erwin placed his index finger on top of the mask of the figure.

"What gender is this one?" Erwin questioned causing Armin to lower his head.

"I'm not sure," he mumbled but cleared his throat. "It did speak and had a very feminine voice, but I'm not hundred percent sure if it is a woman or a male."

"Sir," Mikassa spoke up from the door frame with Eren at her side. "The masked figure went into battle without sight…" He voice was strong but her eyes held some sort of emotion, it was unclear how she felt about the masked figure's power.

Erwin just stared at the drawing of the masked figure and his eyes narrowed. "That….sounds like a Slayer." He spoke merely to himself but everyone in the room heard him. He glanced at all three of the drawings and his eyes narrowed. "Where are their eye colors?"

Arwin's face flushed for a moment, "I-I can't remember what eye color they had…I'm sorry."

Erwin removed his finger from the drawing, running a hand through his blonde hair and a sigh escaped his lips. "In the myths, it says that Slayers had the brightest eyes of all humans. Like piercing bight as if fire lived within 's why I was curious."

The room grew quiet as they stared at the drawings of the Slayers. Hanji tapped her chin, removing her gaze from the drawings, and looked over at Armin. "Did these people have 3-D gear?"

Armin opened his mouth to speak and then pressed his lips together trying to remember the events from yesterday. He didn't get a good glimpse of their body due to the fact that he was mesmerized by their seer power. "They didn't own any from what I saw," he muttered but then his eyes widened remembering a weapon all of them possessed around their hips.. "They did have some strange weapon made of chains; each of them wore it around their waists. That's all I can remember"

Erwin placed his fingers in between then crease of his nose. "So many unanswered questions, but they all wear the symbol of the Slayers."

Levi placed the drawing onto the table and stared up at Erwin with his dead like eyes. "You said Slayers are myth…how can these women possibly be them then? Just because they wear some symbol and claim to be Slayers doesn't make them so."

Erwin placed his hand upon the masked figure drawing, "This one….if this one went into battle without sight that means it has been highly trained. Slayers were said to be the greatest Titans slayers in all of the lands due to their harsh training. They are born only to become warriors. If what you say is true and it defeated two Titans without eyesight….it's hard to believe but a Slayer could do it."

Levi only rolled his silver eyes but did not say anything. Erwin glazed up at Armin, "Armin go and round up all the squad members and leaders. We need to have a meeting."

"Meeting? For what?" Levi declared.

"I want to find these people," Erwin replied as he gazed down at the drawings, his blue eyes focused on them. "If these are Slayers, we need their help more than ever if we want to capture that female Titan."


	3. Deadly Encounter

"_give em whiplash  
__I think big get cash make em blink fast  
__now look at what you just saw, this is what you live for  
__Ah, I'm a motherfucking monster!"  
__-Nicki Minaj_

* * *

"What if we don't find them?" Jean questioned Armin as they saddled up the horses. Jean tightened the strap around the horse's midsection. "I mean, they could be miles away for all we know."

Armin only stared out into the vast fields. "They could've gotten that far," he replied.

Reiner moved his horse closer to the pair and a smirk grew on his face. "I wouldn't mind seeing them again; one of them had a nice ass."

Jean glared over at the blonde, "What's with you and women butt?"

"Oh be quiet, you were obsessed with Mikasa's hair weren't you?" Reiner added with a smug look on his face causing Jean to look away quickly in embarrassment causing a smile to appear on Armin's face. Yet, when his gaze returned to the field a frown appeared. What if Jean was right and they were gone? His mind is pushed back from yesterday's meeting.

"_Our main objective is to find the three people calling themselves Slayers," Erwin spoke in a large classroom filled with new and old members of the Scouting League. "Slayers are an ancient group of warriors that formed when the Titans appeared at least a hundred years ago. We have been informed that three are roaming the lands within the walls."_

_Someone raised their hand, "Why are they here?"_

_"To be perfectly honest, I don't know." Erwin admitted to the man. "But we do know they are slayers due to one of them." He waved a hand and a solider pinned the drawing of the masked figure onto the board. "This person killed two Titans without the use of their eyesight."_

_People in the rows of desks started to mumble and mutter to one another. Erwin cleared his throat and the room grew quiet once more. _

"_If this figure went into battle without the use of sight….we need that person on our side. We already have a Titan with us…and if we have Slayers fighting alongside of us, then we can stop the Titans from destroying the walls."_

Arwin stared at his horse as reality came back to him. The thought of a true, breathing Slayer was overwhelming. His parents used to read him stories about them. Warrirors who fought off Titans with such ease, it put humanity hidden in the walls to shame.

"Armin?" A voice asked from above him causing the blonde to look up to see Eren on his horse. "Come on, let's get going."

Armin only nodded and climbed onto his horse. The squad was quite large for a search party; the whole 104th squad was there, despite their squad leader wishing some would stay behind. It seems that everyone wants to see these women in action, especially those who didn't see them before. The squad leader sighed loudly at the sheer size of the squad and then directed his horse toward the forest.

"We're going to where they were spotted yesterday," he shouted toward the group. "Hopefully, they will still be there. Follow my lead."

The squad leader kicked the side of his horse and the horse galloped into the vast land. The squad follow behind him, heading toward the large forest where the female Titan attacked just days ago. Armin looked over at Eren and noticed his facial expression turned into a shadow, and his eyes were wide. He was obviously thinking back to that day, that horrible event that took place in the forest.

"Eren?" Mikasa questioned causing the boy to blink multiple times and look over at her. He only nodded which caused her to faintly nod her head and return her gaze to the open area.

Finally, the large squad reached the edge of the forest. Thankfully, they haven't seen any Titans in the area. Jean gazed up to the large tress, remembering just a week ago they were up in those trees. It seemed like a dream, no, more like a nightmare. Ymir yawned loudly and stretched her arms over her head.

"I bet those women aren't so tough," she said mostly t Krista, but the blonde was too busy gazing over the vast land.

"You're wrong." Jean declared to Ymir who turned her gaze to him. "They are….monsters."

That word, monster, caused Reiner and Bertolt to turn their heads toward Jean.

"I'll be judge of that once I see them in action," Ymir replied calmly and Jean looked toward the forest. His eyes studied the greenery and then his irises widen upon seeing a figure.

"SQUAD LEADER!" He shouted causing the older man to look over at Jean. Jean pointed his index finger up to the trees, and then moved the same finger to the left. "I SEE TWO OF THEM!"

Everyone turned to look up and Armin saw the first woman, the one with the mohawk. She had a heavy armor on but he noticed her face was painted, like a skeleton. She had her fist in front of her as if she was holding onto something. He looked the side to see the masked figure kneeling beside the older woman, but it had its sword drawn out. They were waiting for something. But what?

Then, the ground started to shake causing the squad members to look toward the entrance of the forest. Armin could see a horse coming toward the entrance of the forest and behind it were two Titans. One was a 15 meters and the other was 13, both chasing after the horse. Armin then noticed the red headed Slayer was upon the horse, galloping out of the forest. He turned his attention to the two figures hidden in the tree tops. Why were two of them up there while the other is running for her life from the Titans.

"WEAPONS OUT!" The squad leader shouted but there was fear laced in his voice.

"B-B-But…our wear won't work out in the open!" Sasha shouted back with her eyes wide.

"DO AS I SAY!" He shouted at her causing Sasha to lower her head, but she was shaking.

Armin watched the other two and then he looked toward the entrance of the forest, the sun's rays shined down on the ground and he noticed the ground shining in certain areas. Then, like lightning crashing he realized what was happening. A surprise attack.

"DON'T GO TOWARD THE FOREST!" He shouted at the squad leader causing everyone to look at him. "They are ready for the Titans! Look, at the two sitting in the trees! They are waiting for the other Slayer to leave so they can attack!"

Just as Armin finished his statement, the red head's horse jumped over the traps on the ground and galloped to the side of the forest. The two Titans kept running toward her and once they were out of the forest, a loud explosion was heard. Armin looked up and noticed the dark headed woman had a bomb timer in her head and the Titans step right into them. Smoke escaped from their body from the bombs and the Titans screamed in agony. Then, the masked figure jumped down from the tree branch and Armin watched as she pulled out the chain wrapped around her body and at the ends of the chain are large daggers. Time seemed to slow down as he watched her throw the end of the chain at one of the Titans, the dagger pierced into the Titan's shoulder blade and she grabbed onto the chain, literally pulling herself toward the Titan. Time sped up and she cut off the nape of the 15 meter Titan. She stood ontop of its head and then her grip tightened on the other dagger, throwing it toward the other Titan. The 13 meter stopped chasing the red head because it noticed the large group of the squad, and started heading toward them.

However, the masked figure managed to get attached to the Titan and was pushing itself toward the Titan. The Titan kept running toward the group but the masked figure was quick, appearing above its head. The Titan must have smelled it because it stopped running, looking up to it. Armin watched in horror as the Titan opened its mouth to eat it. However, the masked figure kept one hand on the chain and the other grabbed something, and then threw it into the Titan's mouth. An explosion went off in the Titan's mouth and the Titan shirked in agony from the explosion. The dark figure landed on its head and without wasting a second jumped behind its back, cutting off the nape. The Titan fell to the ground with a loud THUMP and the dark figure beside it. The ends of the chain hitting the ground behind it as it did so. It was only a few feet from the squad.

Armin's blue hues were wide from the sheer power the figure held, and it did it without vision. It was too much for him to handle.

The other two women rode their horses over to the figure, the mohawk woman glared down at the masked figure. Armin got a good look at the women and noticed the red head had blazing brown eyes while the dark haired woman had blazing dark blue eyes. Their eyes shined like jewels, it was astonishing.

"You're such a show off," she said to the masked figure as it stood up. "And you wasted an explosive."

"Look who's talking," the masked figure replied to the dark headed woman, "You wasted at least four bombs."

"Slowed down those monsters didn't it?" The woman questioned with pride shown on her painted face.

"Ladies," the red head spoke to the pair. "Be a little civil in front of strangers."

The squad leader bowed his head at the red head. "I…we thank you all for stopping that attack."

The red head only nodded with a smile on her pale face. The masked figure huffed at the comment as did the painted woman.

The masked figure stood up, wiping her sword with the cloth of her cape, keeping its back to the large squad. The mohawk woman looked over to the squad and blew a raspberry from her lips.

"Saying thank you is what weaklings say because they cannot protect themselves. Such a statement is not used by Slayers. Typical. They are all senseless weaklings," she commented causing Mikasa to grab her sword in anger but Armin gently touched her arm, hoping to calm her down. The skeleton painted woman did not even notice the gesture from either of them.  
"Ara," the red head hissed toward her. Ara only raised a brow at the red head and looked over at the squad, rolling her bright blue eyes.

Suddenly, a large crow flew down and started attacking Eren with its talons. Mikasa's swatted at the bird as did Eren. The masked figure turned her attention to the squad and walked over to Eren. The crow was cawing loudly at Eren and the masked woman stood beside Eren's horse, watching carefully. Armin looked down at her, and heard her sniffing. She moved her head toward Reiner and Bertolt, then back to Eren. As if she was smelling them. Then in the blink of an eye, she reached for her sword and jumped up onto Eren's horse behind him, holding her sword to his neck.

"Why do you smell like a Titan?" She hissed to him with venom in her voice. The crow stopped its attack and landed on the masked figure's shoulder. "You smell disgusting, worse than a Titan. What are you?"

Mikasa's dark eyes lit up in anger from the woman's actions and she grabbed her sword. However, the masked figure must have heard her movements because she grabbed one of her Tantos, blocking Mikasa's attack on her.

"Pathetic," the masked figure said to Mikassa with humor in her muffled voice. Mikasa's eyes lit with hatred as she stared at the masked woman.

"ENOUGH!" The red headed woman shouted at the masked woman, but the masked figure refused to move her sword from Eren's neck. "Release him! You're being ridiculous."

"He smells like a Titan and I want to know why!" She shouted at both the red head and Eren, keeping her sword at his neck. "Even Banshee attacked him!"

"Your smelling must be acting up because he's clearly a boy!" The red head replied angrily at the masked woman. "So let him go!"

Armin watched helpless as the masked woman held Eren by the neck, but then a thought came to his head.

"Eren is a Titan!" He shouted at the red head causing her brown blazing eyes to widen at his statement. Ara grabbed her iron mace and her face twisted in disgust. It only made the masked figure's grip grow tighter. Armin noticed and then spoke to the masked figure only, "But he isn't like the Titans you just fought."

"Explain!" The masked figure commanded Armin, keeping her grip on Eren. However, she turned her head to look at Armin and he could see color from the mask, furious color. He couldn't just stare at her to figure out her eye color, so he lowered his voice, hoping it would calm her down.

"Eren can transform into a Titan…he's a shape shifter. Unlike regular Titans he knows what he is doing and fights for us, fights for humanity. We came out here looking for you, and if you let Eren go we will tell you everything about him. " The red head's eyes shined brighter for a spilt second at the bargain that Armin offered the women. However, the masked figure did not budge.

"Bullshit," the masked figure replied to him, keeping her attention on him. "We don't make deals with wall dwellers, especially when you're allies with a Titan. Titans are evil, I don't care if this boy can transform into one. I've never even heard of such crap, but if has Titan in him, he needs to die."

"Let him go," the red head spoke gently to mask figure. "We can learn a lot from him, don't be rash. If we get information from him, you can take it back to your clan. Bring honor to your dominant clan. Kill him and we lose vital information. You can kill him if he tries anything."

The masked figure kept her grip on Eren but slowly released him. Eren's hands went to his neck and his breathing returned to normal. Mikasa moved her sword from the masked figure's Tanto, placing her hands on Eren's shoulder, making sure he wasn't hurt from the masked figure. Eren swatted her hands away but Mikasa kept her gaze on him. The masked woman jumped down onto the ground, walking over to Ara's horse.

"Pathetic display, wouldn't you agree?" she said up to Ara who only nodded from Mikasa parenting Eren.

"Fine Sloane," the masked woman muttered, it was almost unheard due to her face mask. She pointed her gloved finger at Eren. "But if he tries anything. I'll rip his head off his body with my bare hands." She placed her swords back into their holders on her hips and a black horse walked up to her.

Ara chuckled under her breath as she placed her ion mace back into its holder. "That would be a sight worth watching."

Sloane looked over at the squad leader and then at Armin. "I will make a deal with you two. Follow us to our hideout, let me and Ara ask your friend Eren some questions and we shall answer some questions you have for us. Afterall, you were looking for us. Information for Information is valuable, don't pass it up."

The squad leader looked down at Armin, and Armin nodded up at him. "We accept your offer."

Sloane nodded at the men and looked over at Ara. "You okay with this deal?"

Ara shrugged her shoulders. "I still think we should kill them, but I'll trust your judgment on this."

Sloane looked over at the masked figure who was on her horse now, with the crow resting on her shoulder. "What say you?"

The masked figure did not turn her head to Sloane or the squad. "I don't care; I just want to get out of this horrible sun. It's too hot out here."

Sloane smiled at the squad, her smile was just as bright as her eyes. "Follow us, and keep an eye out for Titans."


	4. Unanswered Questions

_But I'm not a slave to a god  
That doesn't exist  
But I'm not a slave to a world  
That doesn't give a shit  
-Marilyn Mason_

* * *

_This was my favorite character to write and I'm warning you that it is long and lots of talking. I hope you like it though!_

* * *

The sun was setting in the distant horizon as the squad followed the three Slayers. The red head was in the front, chatting with the squad leader. Armin gazed at her and saw a smile on her pale face, a true smile. He hadn't seen one in so long. The skeleton painted woman was a few inches from Sloane, keeping her gaze to the sunset. Armin moved his gaze to the side to see the masked figure, keeping her distant to the other women. He noticed Mikasa staring at her with hatred in her dark hues, causing the masked woman to turn her head slightly.

"Keep staring at me like that and I'll take out your eyes." She declared to Mikasa causing her growl at the masked woman. However, Eren glared at Mikasa causing the young girl to narrow her head in submissive to Eren. The masked woman just huffed in disapproval of the actions they exchanged.

The red head slowed her horse down once they reached an abandon mill house. The windmill is rotted but the fans slowly turn from the wind. The Slayers mount from their horses and Ara stretched her arms over her head,letting out a sigh of relief.

"I'm exhausted," she yawned.

The masked woman paused beside her. "You can sleep when you're dead."

Ara only made a face at her and looked over to Sloane. "We should probably spray them."

The masked figure turned her head sharply to gaze at Ara. "I'm not wasting my spray on these wall dwellers!" Ara only glared at the masked woman but did not argue with her. Sloane opened a bag hanging from her white horse's saddle. She pulled out a spray can and shook it in her hand causing it to raddle in her hand.

"Alright, in a single file line, and stand still so I can spray you. Don't worry, it will protect you for a good while," she ordered as she began to spray the squad leader.

Armin noticed the other two were spraying themselves with the same bottles, the spray floated over to his nose and he had to cover his nose from the stench. It smelled like an animal's feces. Why would they want to smell so terrible!? However, as he ponder on the thought, it was obvious why. Titans smell humans, and if they smell like an animal….the Titans won't know they are there.

Sloan started to spray the squad causing most of them to cough from the horrible smell.

"I smell like horse shit," Reiner groaned as he covered his nose.  
"I smell like a dog," Connie's hands were over his mouth as he nagged.

Armin looked over to the masked woman and Ara. "You're doing this so the Titans won't smell us…aren't you? " His comment caused all the squad to stop complaining and look over at the women.

The masked figure laughed hoarsely and stepped forward to Armin, glazing down at him. "Maybe you aren't as stupid as you look." Her voice wasn't as harsh as before when she was about to kill Eren, there was humor in it this time. She then walked over the abounded house and Armin watched as she removed her mask, but she walked into the dark house before he could see her true identity.

Once the squad was sprayed, they started to tie their horses to various parts of the mill house. Jean smelled himself and groaned from the stench. Armin was just staring at Sloane and Ara as they spoke with their squad leader and with Eren.

"What do you think they will do with Eren?" Jean asked Armin causing the blonde to lower his blue hues.

"I don't know," he admitted. The other squad members watched Armin but he turned to look at all of them. "However, I don't think Sloane wants Eren dead…I saw how her eyes lit up from my offer. The only one who wants him dead is that masked woman."

"That masked one," Sasha mumbled causing everyone to turn their attention to her. "She's…the strongest and it scares me. Knowing that a human…could be so strong even without sight…it's terrifying. She could easily kill us all if she wanted to….I can sense she is holding back on her strength."

Armin swallowed the lump in his throat from the thought. He thought back to when she addressed him just moments ago. The humor in her voice. The way she spared Eren when Sloane told her about her clan.

"No, you're wrong," Armin whispered over to Sasha. "She may be strong, but she's no monster."

The squad members took some food from the bags on their horses and entered the abounded house. It was dirty, filled with cob webs, and some small animals living in the counters and ceiling. Still it was better than being out in the open for Titans to find them. Eren was sitting in a chair with Mikasa by his side, her eyes scanning the room probably looking for the masked woman.

Slaone and Ara appeared in the house and the red head looked over at Eren.

"Eren, right?" She questioned him, and he nodded. A small smile appeared on her face, she placed a hand onto his shoulder causing Mikasa to grab her sword in defense.

"We can talk in the other room and you can bring your bodyguard with you if you wish," Sloane spoke to Eren and he only nodded. Ara looked around the room and frowned, she cupped her hands over her mouth.

"HEY! YOU BETTER WATCH THE AREA FOR US! YOU HEAR ME!" She shouted loudly into the dark house and Armin wondered who she was speaking to because no one answered her.

"Were you addressing us?" Armin questioned Ara which made the woman's face twist in loathing.  
"As if I would put my life in the hands of a wall dweller," she answered harshly.

Sloane and Ara let the squad leader, Eren, and Mikassa into a room on the left and closed the door behind them. The squad was left alone in the house and from the window; the sun disappeared behind the hills. Darkness engulfed the house completely until Krista lit a lantern with a match to provide some light. The squad was quiet and then Sasha stood up, walking into another room.

"Sasha!" Krista shouted at the girl. "Where are you going?"  
"Looking for more food!" She replied from the other room causing everyone to groan.  
"We should probably follow her, " Connie said as he stood up, walking into the dark room. "I don't want her to find food and not share it."  
"He has a point," Ymir added and followed him into the dark room.

Soon enough the rest followed into the room, it was a large den with various furtine shattered around the room. There were portraits hanging from the fire place and Armin's heart sunk into his chest upon seeing it was a family portraits, he looked away from the sight. Sasha was opening various desks, hoping to find some food. She wasn't paying attention and ran into something, causing her to fall onto her butt. She looked up and her brown hues widened at the sight. A crow flew down, attacking her head causing Sasha to swat at it and moved away from the bird. The crow flew away from her, landing on the window's seal. Then, Sasha returned her gaze toward the figure she ran into.

"I thought you weaklings were staying in the other room," a woman spoke to everyone, the voice was harsh and unfeeling. "And you, fear eyed girl, watch were you are going."

"Yes ma'am." Sasha muttered and quickly moved toward the other side of the room, hiding behind a chair.

Armin looked over to see the woman's back turned to them and the darkness concealed her entire upper body, only leaving her armored hips and legs visible thanks to the moon's light. She was removing weapons from the belt wrapped around her hip, placing them on the table. Armin looked over to the other squad members who had their eyes on the woman and Armin swallowed the fear of lump in his throat.

"A…Are you the masked woman?" Armin questioned causing the woman to slow down her motion but kept removing her weapons from her body.

"No," she answered as she placed her sword onto the table. "No, I'm just someone who magically appeared from thin air and entered this house. Of course I am her."

"What is your name?" he asked bravely despite her cold attitude.

"I do think it's good manners to say yours first," she asked coldly as she removed her last weapon from her body.

He placed his left arm beneath behind his back and covered his heart with his right hand. "I'm Armin Arlet from Shiganshina," he answered her causing the woman to turn her entire body over to him. Yet, the darkness still concealed her upper body as she leaned against the table. He can sense her gaze on him as he kept his salute to her.

"You got some guts kid. Not many people actually address me, I can see some of your comrades are scared shitless of me and yet you want to know about me," she said to Armin and then removed herself from the table to place both of her arms behind her back, a salute as some kind. "I am Layla the Slayer, sixth child to Celina of Stabwound clan and ninth child to Avery of Warhead clan, I am a member of Blood Circle clan."

Armin let her words enter his mind and he was confused about everything she said. She must have been born from parents who weren't together romantically because she addressed the mother and father separately. Also, what is a clan and why does she address it in her name? The room grew silent after her greeting until the crow cawed loudly, returning to her shoulder.

"Layla," Armin addressed the woman in the darkness. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

The woman removed her hands from behind her back and leaned on the table once more. "Only if I can ask some for you, I don't give out free handouts. And only if you ask, the others would just be a waste of my breath and time."  
"Agreed" Armin replied.

The woman removed herself from the darkness and Armin's eyes widen from her true appearance. She had lily white skin, as if the sun never touched her skin. The left side of her head was shaved with a circle on it, as if it was drawn from blood. She has long curly black hair hanging from the right side of her head, resting on the right side of her chest, reaching below her breast. What caused Armin to be shocked from her appearance were the two strands of white in her hair, one on the right side and one single strand on the left side of her shaved head. She also had bright white eyes; the iris was white as well. She wore black eyeliner around her eyes and the line extended to the side of her heads and she also wore dark lipstick. She only wore strands of bandages around her chest, exposing a large amount of cleavage and he noticed a branded symbol in her skin where her heart resides.

"What's wrong?" Layla questioned everyone as she placed her hands onto her slender hips. "Never seen a woman before? I heard life within the walls were depressing and if you don't have many women, I see why now."

Armin stared at her face and then her unusual haircut; it looked very similar to Ara. Yet, their eyes are very different despite having the same hair color and facial structure.

"Are you and Ara sisters?" He questioned.

Layla rolled her white eyes and a sigh escaped her black lips. "We came from the same parents and share the same genes, but that is it. I could honestly care less about what happens to Ara, even if she is a good fighter. "

Armin's eyes darkened from her comment and Connie was the one who spoke up to the woman, nearly shouting. "How can you say that!? She's your sister! Your family! You should be thankful your sister is ALIVE!"

Layla expression darkened and she took a few steps to the boy, pointing her gloved finger at him. "You listen and you listen good wall dweller. She is nothing to me. Sister or not, she is not in my clan therefore she is of no value to me. We aren't like you. We don't care about families or who shares who genes. We fight for ourselves and our clan members. And if you ever raise your voice at me I'll see to it you don't have a tongue in those flapping gums of yours. GOT IT!?"

Conny's eyes widen at her comment and his hand shook in anger, he just turned his back to the woman. She nodded her head and returned into the safety of the shadows. Armin could not stop staring at her white hues, which caused her to look over at him. "Quit staring, it's rude."

Armin was silent for a moment and then shook his head, keeping his eye contact with her white hues. ". It's just….are….." his words failed him causing Layla to raise a brow at him. "Are you blind?"

His words caused her white eyes to soften at him and she shook her head. "Not entirely. I'm surprised you are so observant. Pretty impressive….for a wall dweller."

He thought back to her style of fighting and the mask she wore that covered her entire face, and her eyes. Yet, she has the mask off. She made comments about how the sun was too hot and too bright. Yet, she seems so relaxed in total darkness while others are disturbed by the dark. He looked out the window only to see the moon shining into the den area.

"When you say not entirely…can you not see very well during the day?" Armin asked causing the woman to blink several times and her full attention was on him. "Is that why you wear that face mask during the day, because the sun's light hurts your vision? You don't wear the mask now….because you're in the dark…the sun hurts your eyes."

"Wow, I'm impressed." She admitted and took a step toward him. "Most people don't figure that out until I ask them how I became this way. You are mostly correct. I see better in the dark, and the sun limits my vision. It should be the other way around but…my vision is limited, yes."

"May I ask how you lost your vision?" Armir asked in a faint voice.

"No." She answered pointy and turned her back toward the weapons on her table. She picked up her sword and began to clean it with a dirty rag. "Now it's my turn to ask a question. Why are you out here?"

"Looking for you three," he answered. He hoped that if he answered simply that she would ask another question so he could return a question to her. However, she could see right through his attempt and just shrugged her shoulders causing Banshee to fly onto the table.

"Just to find us is pretty stupid on your clan master's decision. It's not like we are going to help you or anything. In fact, if it was up to me…I would have left you all out there to die. Sloane is too weak and soft-hearted; it's going to get her killed one day." Layla placed her sword back on the table and walked over to the window, causing Banshee to fly up to her shoulder. "We're done with questioning."

Armin only nodded; he didn't get any information out of here. He only hopes that Eren got something out of the other two. They can't go back empty handed.

Layla looked over to Armin and her white eyes stopped at his 3-D. "I do have one question, and you can ask me one more. What is that one your hip?"

"It's three dimensional maneuver wear," he stated and started to take off the holders for his sword. The dark haired girl walked over to examine it, touching the holder for his swords with an engrossed expression on her face. "This is where we keep our swords, we have numerous ones just in case the others fail."  
"May I?" She asked as her fingers touched one of the blades and Armin only nodded. She pulled a single sword out and examined it.  
Armin pointed to the air mechanism, "This is filled with air so we can move quickly in the air to attack the Titans. "  
"Pathetic," the girl commented causing everyone to flinch at her comment. Suddenly, razors appeared from the fingertips of her gloves, cutting the blade in half. The two pieces fell to the ground and the razors slid back into her fingertips. "How pathetic that you depend on weapons that can be so easily destroyed. Also, this gas section of the gear can easily run out of gas and then what will you do? Oh I know, get eaten."

Armin was still in shock that she had weapons in her gloves. Their swords look the same, but obviously Slayers have stronger weapons than the soldiers in the walls. He watched as she began to place her sword back onto the holder of her hip.

"You said I can ask you one more question. I want to know how you can fight Titans without your vision," his question caused everyone to turn their attention over to the woman as she loaded the weapons onto her body.

"That's simple, it's because I'm blind. I wasn't always this strong. My loss of vision caused me to be one of the greatest warriors the Slayers ever saw. When I lost my vision as a child I knew I would be killed for being weak…I would be seen as useless. That's when I depended on my other senses to keep fighting. I depend on my other senses such as smell and hearing, senses that most humans don't rely on. I can hear deer walking in the grass and Titans running in the fields. I can smell them; I can smell them all the time." A small laugh escaped her black lips as she hooked her armor in, "It actually drives me crazy. I always smell them and if you think that spray smells bad to you, it smells like the animal literally shitted on me. That's how strong my smell is."

Armin lowered his eyes and nodded his head. She tightened the chain wrapped around her hip and the Sloane appeared from the door entrance.

"Oh you're all in here. I hope Layla didn't give you trouble," she said jokily and Layla just scowled at her. "You guys should head back home. Titans won't bother you at night. They are so slow so you should be safe to get back to the wall." She waved her hand and walked out of the frame.

Layla placed her cape over her shoulders and walked over to the door frame, looking over at Armin. "Hope you don't die getting back, Armin. Oh and," she pointed at Reiner and Bertolt with her gloved hand. "Hope you two don't die either, you would make excellent mating partners. Blonde boy obviously has strong genes due to his muscular body and tan boy is tall, always a good trait for children to have. " Her comment caused the two boy's faces to flush, especially Bertolt's. Reiner tried to play it cool by coughing a few times but the flush was there nonetheless. She only smiled a little and walked into the dark of the other room.

"At least you got something out of that…._woman. _If you can call her that._" _Jean said to Armin who only nodded.  
"It's not enough though…we still don't know why they in the walls or who they really are. I just hope Eren got answers out of the other two."


	5. Gift From Blood

Note: Thanks for those we have Favorited and follow. I have so many ideas for this story. Please note that the italic lines are for flashbacks. Thank you.

* * *

_"I am a fighter and_  
_I ain't gonna stop_  
_There is no turning back_  
_I've had enough"_  
_-Christina Aguilera_

* * *

"So, you did have another encounter with the women." Erwin addressed Armin who only nodded his head. The meeting room was filled with paper from Hangi's work at trying to trap the Female Titan. She hasn't slept for many days, so Erwin allowed for her to not attend the meeting about the Slayers.

"Yes," he answered and had drawing paper underneath his arm. He pulled out the parchment and placed it on the table once more. "Our squad leader drew these new portraits of the women."

Armin pointed at Sloane's portrait first, the drawing showed most of her face and her extremely bright brown eyes. The drawings also zoomed in on a branded symbol on her right hand that resembled a book with an S on the cover. Erwin gazed down at the drawing, as did Levi.

"Her name is Sloane and I think she is the leader because she orders the others around," Armin said as he stared at the drawing. "Or it could be because she is the oldest. Just a speculation."

Erwin nodded his head and Armin placed a new drawing of Ara with her painted skeleton war paint. The artist drew her iron mace in detail and her sword as well. "This one is Ara and is pretty much disgusted with people like us, they call us wall dwellers. She mostly obeys Sloane but I noticed that she and the masked woman were pretty close."

"Do you have new information on the masked one?" Levi asked.

Armin nodded and placed the last drawing which was the most detailed. "Her name is Layla, no last name. They use their clan names for their full names"

The artist drew Layla without her mask, but since the squad leader did not get to examine her, he tried his best to compose her completely. The makeup was just has she worn it, but the artist drew it much darker than needed, making her look like a monster lurking in the darkness. She has her shaved left head and her long black wavy hair laying over her right shoulder, however the artist forgot the two white streaks on either side. However, the artist included the bright white eyes and the detailed armor as well. Levi stared at the drawing as did Erwin. Every weapon she showed Armin was there from her sword to her explosives.

Erwin pointed at the circle on drawn on the left part of her shaved head. "What is this symbol? It doesn't look like the other Slayer symbols."

"That's her clan symbol of the Blood Circle." Armin answered and his blue eyes lowered remembering last night .

"_Layla…" Armin hesitantly spoke to the creature of the night as she put her bags onto her horse. The crow or Banshee as she called it cawed at him but then ignored him. The rest of the squad were packing their weapons as they saddled their horses. Layla, of course, was alone. She was keeping to the far end of the house, keeping to the safety of the shadows. Armin couldn't make out her face but she wasn't wearing her face mask because her white eyes shined in the shadows. _

"_Hm." She huffed, ignoring him but she did gaze over her shoulder to gaze at him with her visible face. Also, she stepped one foot closer to him, relieving half of her face. _

"_May I ask one more question?" He asked, keeping his blue hues on her. _

"_Depends," she replied as she leaned on her dark horse._

"_That symbol on your head," he pointed to the circle causing her gloved hand to gentle touch the red circle. "What is it?"_

_A smile actually appeared on her pale face. "My clan symbol to prove I am a member of the Blood Circle clan. Every day I draw my blood out and redraw the circle, insuring that I stay true to my clan. My clan is the best in our village. The roughest group of men, I'm the only woman they ever allowed to join. I would gladly die at their hands and die with them. They are my clan and also my greatest rivals. We are the best clan because we have all proven our power and our thirst for weak blood." Her voice was loud and there was vanity in it. "Sloane and Ara's clans are shit compared to mine….don't forget that."_

"_How did you join them?" He asked, hoping that she would allow one more question._

_The smile grew into one of pride and humor. She removed herself from her horse and climbed onto its back. "I do believe you asked for one question, but if we meet again wall dweller, I promise to tell you." _

Levi made a disgusted face from the marking on her shaved head, "What is it drawn from?"

"Her own blood." Armin answered causing Levi to shiver at the thought of such filth. "She has to repaint it every day to prove her loyalty to her clan."

Erwin placed his hands onto the table and a sigh escaped him. "Did you find anything else about them?"

Armin lowered his eyes, "Not really. They are very secretive in their ways. I tried to get information out of Layla but she refused to answer anything in detail. They did have impressive weapons."

"Explain," Erwin pressed on as he stared at all three drawings.

"When we reached their safe out, they had a can of spray that smelled like various animal feces. They wore it so Titans wouldn't find them."

"That's….clever," Levi admitted in a low voice.

"Other than that…no. They keep to themselves. I'm sure Eren will tell you what Sloane and Ara shared-"  
"From what Eren gathered, the women only said they are here to figure out why the Titans made it to the walls so quickly," Levi interrupted him. "That's all he got out of them and he told them about his transformation; information for information. Obviously those ladies refuse to give out too much information"

Erwin sighed loudly, pressing his fingers to the crease of his eyebrows. "Why won't they help us? What are they hiding?"

"They can't be trusted…obviously." Levi remarked in a low voice. "Why else would they refuse to help us fight a Titan? For all we know they could be allies with those shape shifting monsters."

Armin closed his eyes, remembering the events from last night.

"_Layla, why don't you return with me?" Armin asked, almost begged to the dark haired moved his horse over to hers as she was finishing loading up.  
"I'd rather have my feet cut off," she replied as she jumped up onto her horse. She was quiet for a moment and then looked over at Armin. "These walls….I feel like cattle. I can't see them from here but I know I am trapped within them. It's driving me crazy wall dweller, don't know how you deal with it."_

"_It's all I've ever known." Armin admitted causing Layla's white hues to soften for a spilt second._

_She nodded her head, and then turned to the distant horizon, covered in the blanket of darkness. "I want to leave these walls, not stay. Besides, I would never degrade myself by helping wall dwellers. It goes against ancient tradition. You're all weak and pathetic, that's why you live in the walls. Only the strong survive in the flames of hell." A small chuckle escaped her dark painted lips. "Now look, the walls have been broken and you're in hell, just like I've always been in. The world is hell, no question about it." _

_Armin lowered his eyes at her monologue. She was right, even if he did not want to admit it. Humanity pretended life in the walls was safe, but her clan has been out there in hell. Every Slayer saw the true horrors of Titans as children, while he thought it was all distant away. She was right and he hated to admit it. _

"_You could help us to become strong," he whispered to her causing her to turn her attention to him. "You're so strong…you could help us to become just like you."_

"_I'd rather have my feet nailed to the ground than to ever lower myself to help wall dwellers." She hissed and looked out to the vast lands. "You're lucky though," she whispered mostly to herself but Armin heard her. "You've lived in bliss, pure ignorant bliss." _

_Then, she reached into a bag, pulling out a flare gun. She grabbed Armin's hand, opening the palm and placed the gun into it._

"_This is a Slayer flare gun. Use it if you ever need help and I'll come if I'm nearby. Only has two rounds so don't go crazy with it." She wrapped his fingers around the gun and Armin examined it in 'aw'.  
"Layla, why give this to me?" He questioned as he stared at the gun.  
"You aren't so bad kid. You actually got me to talk, not many can do that. Besides, I like to kill. Killing is an art and I'm becoming the master," she replied with pride in her voice as she kept her eyes to the shadowy horizon.  
Armin nodded and placed the flare gun into a holder on his side. "Thank you."  
Layla looked over at him from the words and a smirk appeared on her pale face. "Such a pathetic statement, do you know what we use for that?"  
"I don't know," he answered.  
"We say, 'I owe you'. Warriors never say thank you, if you do me a favor I owe you with my blood. We use blood for blood if someone protects us, they used their blood to save me…I'll return the favor with my blood. A blood oath, if you will." She proclaimed as her eyes moved over to him. "However, I'll take your pathetic statement for what it's worth."_

_She moved her horse away from his and toward the other women; she however stopped beside Reiner and Berthold.  
"You two better stay alive. You are still good candidates for mating in the future," she spoke to the boys causing them to flush once more. She looked over at Armin again and nodded at him, then returned to the side of the women. Sloane turned around to gaze at Eren and waved goodbye to him and to the squad. Then, the women's horses took off into the dark of the fields. Armin watched as Layla disappeared with them, his blue eyes moved to the gun and his fingers gently touched the metal. _

Soon, he returned to reality. He shook his head and lowered his gaze to the drawings.

"They aren't our enemies. They love to kill Titans, especially Layla," he spoke to the pair. "They just don't want to help us because we are so different from them. They have clans, rules we would see as unforgiven, barbaric almost. They know nothing of compassion for their fellow man. All they care about is killing Titans. "

"Different in our culture or not. We are all humans, and we all want humanity to return to power." Erwin countered to Armin. "They have weapons we could use, weapons we need to destroy Titans."

"I agree," Armin replied but his eyes lowered. "They are here to figure out why Titans are in the walls, I'm sure our paths will meet theirs again. They will talk for information."

Erwin only nodded and closed his eyes. "Thank you Armin, you are dismissed."


	6. Blood

"Pure black looking clear  
My work is done soon here  
Try getting back to me  
Get back which used to be  
Drink up  
Shoot in  
Let the beatings begin  
Distributor of pain  
Your loss becomes my gain

Anger  
Misery  
You'll suffer unto me

Harvester of sorrow  
Language of the mad  
Harvester of sorrow"  
-Metallica

_Two weeks since last encounter with Slayers and a week after the 57__th__ expedition. _

"Oi, brats where are you going?" Levi questioned a squad as they assembled near the horses.

The squad consisted of Armin, Connie, Jean, Mikasa, Sasha, Reiner, and Berthold. They are turned to salute the captain as he walked over to them.

"Orders from our squad leader. Commander Erwin still wants us to find new routes to Shiganshina District," Connie informed Levi who just blinked at him, his face was shadowed for a brief moment and he nodded.

"Just don't die," Levi simply commented and everyone gave kept their salute at him, saying in unison. "Yes sir!"

Armin placed his last bag onto the horse's saddle and his hand involuntary went to the flare gun resting securely on his hip. The gun has been on his mind ever since Layla gave it to him. She acted as if she hated all wall dwellers with extreme passion. Why did she give it to him and not someone else? If this expedition goes wrong, he can only hope that she will be around to help them. Or, was giving this weapon a means of sick game she is just playing with him. He'll never know the true answer.

Armin and the other boys loaded onto their horses. Their squad leader this time was named William, an excellent leader but Armin was curious to why Erwin did not assign Levi or Hangi for this mission. However, he had little time to think because the squad leader signaled for them to move out. The gates to the wall opened and the small troop ventured out. Armin dreaded venturing back out beyond the walls, all he could he think of was the female Titan. What if she showed up again? They couldn't stop her even if they tried. So why is Erwin sending them out?

The sun gleamed down on the grass below and the wind caused the tall grass to sway to the side in the gentle breeze. The horses galloped through the open field, and no signs of Titans. For the moment at least. Armin looked over at the others and they all had grim looks upon their faces except for Reiner and Berthold who always seemed to stay composed even in the eyes of death.

The squad spent most of the day planning a new route to the district but everything was still in the air due to the fact that no one knew how far it was. Soon, the sun began to set behind the hills and the squad was done for the day. It seems that the squad leader was told about the myth of Titans being slow at night, and that is why he waited till the sun disappeared behind the hills. As the squad leader was speaking about retuning, Armin looked over his shoulder to see a single flare appear in the sky. The color was of red and black, it was not a color that belonged to his squad or any. The flare appeared miles away but the land was flat, so he saw it came from a small bundle of trees.

"William," Amrin addressed his leader which caused him to stop speaking. "I just saw a flare!"

William looked over to see the red and black flare tumbling back to the ground; he blinked as he stared at it. The colors weren't the same that Survey Crops used, yet…could it belong to…? Armin's fingers touched the metal flare gun on his hip and his heart dropped into his chest. No, those women were so strong, they wouldn't need help….

"Not one of ours," William simply stated as he rolled up the map.

Armin gazed away, staring at the flare. "It could be!" He tried to reassure the man, which only resulted with a shake of his head.

"If we went over there it would be too dangerous," he commented and walked back to his horse. "Now, let's return to headquarters."

Armin's eyes lowered but he felt another horse close to his. He looked over to see Reiner, looking over at him with his yellow like hues. "We should check it out Armin. Just us, forget the squad leader. Besides, Titans lay low at night."

Armin just blinked at Reiner's proposal but he shook his head. "We can't just leave the mission. We could get in real trouble."

Reiner only raised a brow at the young boy, "Or we could find others, save them, and become heroes. Come on Armin."

Armin looked over his shoulder to the squad leader who was packing up his belongings. Leaving would be too obvious, he knew that.

"Squad leader," Armin addressed William. "We should sent up camp here…we won't be able to see in the dark very well. We barley know our way around this area, it will be safer in the morning when we can see clearly. Besides, Titans are slower in the dark so we should be safe."

William studied the boy and after a brief moment, he nodded. "I suppose you're right Armin. Let's set up camp."

Armin sighed in relief and the squad began to make a small camp area near the same abounded building that the Slayers used to use for their camp. In fact, the house was just feet away from them which meant that the women could be feet away from them. Armin was the first to run inside, hoping to see the women but only saw darkness. A few small animals ran at the sight of him and his eyes lowered as he stared into the darkness.

Armin retreated away from the abounded millhouse and back to the small camp. Connie was complaining about not having any food while Reiner just told him to shut up over and over. Mikasa had her black hues to the darkness, using the red scarf to cover most of her face. William was resting in the tent, preparing to sleep. As the night grew, William began to snore and that is when Reiner tugged at Armin who was falling asleep himself.

"Let's go!" He whispered loudly to the blonde who shook off the sleep and nodded.

Reiner, Berthold, and Armin got onto the horses. As they were lighting lanterns, Mikasa appeared in front of them with a stern look upon her face.

"Armin," she addressed the boy in a motherly tone. "Where are you going?"

Armin swallowed the lump in his throat and looked down to his dearest friend. "To find that flare."

"They are probably dead; you're wasting your time." She replied.

"No Mikasa, our squads don't own the color I saw. I think…it belongs to the Slayers." When the words escaped his mouth, her eyes widen.

"I'm coming as well then." She said quickly and ran over to her horse before Armin could protest.

Mikassa appeared beside them and then they all turned their head to see Connie and Jean there as well. Jean's expression was one of annoyance as he stared at the them.

"Where are you guys going?" Jean asked and Connie nodded.  
"To find the flare," Reiner said simply. "And no, you guys can't come. We need people to stay and watch the camp."  
Connie looked at Jean and then at Reiner. "I want to come with you guys. I know that flare didn't belong to our corp, I know it has to be those women. I want to come too."  
"What women?" Jean asked and then his eyes narrowed at the group. "You can't be serious. Those women are nothing but trouble. They don't want our help. If you guys go, it's a death wish."

"Fine Jean," Mikassa vocalized to Jean causing the boy to flush only softly. "You stay with Sasha and Captain William. You guard the camp while we find that flare."

Jean's brows narrowed and then looked to the side. "Whatever, just don't die."

Connie joined the others with his horse and then they took off into the darkness. The lanterns helped to see in front of them but there was nothing but grass and some trees. Armin remembered where the flare appeared but now that darkness has engulfed the sky, it was much more difficult. Reiner moved his lantern to the side and Berthold sighed in annoyance at the whole situation. Connie looked over at Armin who had his gaze toward the side.

"Armin, it's so dark out here. There is no way we are going to find that flare. It happened hours ago," Connie said to Armin. Armin looked down to his horse's neck and closed his eyes. Connie might be right, but the thought of those women in danger, it made his heart ache within his chest. Then, his hand moved down his side and his fingers gazed over the flare gun. His eyes widened from the cold metal on his fingertips. He pulled the gun from his holder causing Mikasa to gaze over at him, moving her lantern over him.

"What is that?" She questioned causing the other boys to look at the gun as well.  
"Layla gave this to me…if it works maybe the other flare will go off again," Armin mumbled mostly to himself and then he extended his arm up, pushing the trigger with his finger. A bright red flare appeared from the gun and flew up to the sky. Armin watched as the red flare started to plummet back to the ground, as the flare fell so did his hopes.

The others started at Armin and then Mikassa turned her head to the side, her black hues narrowing upon seeing a faint light coming toward them. They all turned their heads to see Ara riding toward them, her painted face is in distressed and her eyes widen upon seeing the group.

"You're….you're not Layla," she mumbled and then she pulled out her iron mace, pointing it at Armin causing the blonde to shallow a lump in his throat. "HOW DID YOU GET LAYLA"S FLARE GUN YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!" She screamed, her blazing blue eyes have murder within them.

"She gave it to me," Armin confessed causing Ara's blazing blue eyes to soften only for a moment.  
"Of course she did," she whispered to herself and she placed her iron mace back into its holster. "Have you seen her or Sloane? Why am I asking you….I'm actually lowering myself to ask for information. I should slap myself…."

"No. We haven't seen them, but we did see a flare earlier," he told the skeleton woman causing her eyes to widen.  
"WHEN!?" She asked eargly.  
"A few hours ago….I remember where I saw it, but now that it is dark, it's extremely difficult to find the location," Armin admitted causing Ara to growl at his response.  
"I used all my flares already looking for their sorry asses." She moved her horse past the group and Armin moved his lantern to the side, praying to find the small area of trees.

Then, a shriek was heard in the dark causing Ara to straighten her broad shoulders.  
"That's Sloane," she whispered and before Armin or the others could say anything, she kicked her horse's side violently causing the creature to gallop into the darkness. Armin followed behind her and the others did the same.

"Armin!" Connie shouted at the blonde. "If one of them is hurt, do you honestly think we stand a chance at helping them!?"  
"It's better than letting valuable information die," Reiner replied to Connie causing the young boy to press his lips together.

Ara's horse kept galloping toward the shriek, but the darkness seemed like an endless void. It was everything, consuming the fields. The only light was from the large moon, but it was limited as well. Ara pulled at her horse's reins causing the squad to nearly crash into one another, but they pulled on their reins as well. She smelled the air, turning her head to the left. Armin did the same, and the smell of rotting animals was smelled. Mikassa covered her nose with her scarf from the odor. Ara moved the lantern to the right, and a figure appeared into the faintness of the light.

Layla.

She was badly injured; she was bleeding from her head, nose, and mouth. Her face mask was not worn, so her entire face looked like it was coated in blood. Blood was dripping from her black lips as she walked over to the group. It looked like one of her arms was about to be dislocated from her shoulder. She was holding her sword in one hand, covered in blood. Her walking was uneasy as she made her way toward Ara and the others. The crow was resting on her shoulder but flew over to Ara, crowing at her loudly causing the older woman to swat at it. Armin and Reiner jumped from their horses as Layla walked closer, in fact, she nearly fell over but the boys managed to catch her.

"What?" She asked hoarsely and she turned her head to the side and then to the other. "Ara…what are you doing with….wall dwellers?" She whispered and coughed up blood, the crimson dripped down her chin. Armin wrapped an arm around her shoulder, trying to hold her up.

"I found them," Ara replied to the bleeding girl. "They saw your flare and went looking for you."  
"You're all idiots," Layla murmured but everyone heard her. "Sloane has gone insane. Titans ambushed us…"  
"WHAT!?" Ara shouted. "HOW!? Titans are supposed to be weaker at night! Unless…."  
Layla nodded, "She sprayed herself with the smell of human scent…it caused them to attack us…what's worse is, she didn't even fight back. She kept telling them to eat her. It was disgusting to see her like that."  
Ara's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Is she…?"  
"NO, I managed to save her worthless ass. But, my vision failed me and I couldn't find her body with my smell," Layla confessed.  
"We'll just leave her, she's a traitor. She almost got you killed Layla! If we let her live, our village will hang her for treason! Either way, she will die." Ara said with anger in her voice but Layla shook her head.  
"It's our code….to never let a Slayer get eaten by a Titan. I'll be damned if I let her get eaten by those monsters, even if I have go alone," she spoke and pushed Armin and Reiner off of her. She held her side as she walked over to her horse who looked down at the wounded girl.

"Layla! Stop trying to be a hero. Let Sloane die like a traitor!" Ara shouted as her sister climbed onto her horse.  
"I won't let her get eaten by those things," Layla declared and kicked her horse's side, the horse ran back into the darkness causing Ara to cruse to herself.

She turned to the others with hate in her blazing blue eyes, "DON'T UST STAND THERE! FOLLOW MY SISTER! IF YOU LET HER DIE, I'LL KILL YOU ALL MYSELF!"

Armin nodded and climbed back onto his horse. The others made their horses chase after the girl. Titans ambushed them at night!? And Sloane wanted to get eaten? Why? So many unanswered questions, and it looks like the answers will be written in blood.


	7. More Blood To Spill

_So you think you've got friends in high places  
__With the power to put us on the run  
__Well, forgive us these smiles on our faces  
__You'll know what power is when we are done  
__Son...  
__You're playing with the big boys now  
__Playing with the big boys now  
__Ev'ry spell and gesture  
__Tells you who's the best, you're  
__Playing with the big boys now._

_-Playing with the big boys_

* * *

"LAYLA!" Armin shouted into the darkness, hoping the girl would answer him. No reply came to him which caused his eyes to lower down to his horse's neck.

The moon provided little light for the squad, yet the shadowy figure of Layla was in front of them. Her cape was dancing in the wind and Banshee was flying above her, cawing every now and then. Reiner kept his lantern extended out; hoping the faint light would provide some sort of guidance.

"It's difficult to see her in the dark," Berthold spoke toward Armin and Reiner.  
Armin only nodded. Layla depended on the shadows for her vision and safety, so of course she blended into the darkness perfectly.

"OVER THERE!" Connie shouted, pointing his index finger to the side, causing everyone to turn their head toward the right. At least five Titans were in the distance; their movements were very sluggish due to the lack of sunlight.

Layla must be heard him because she moved her horse to the right, galloping right for the Titans.

"Is she an idiot!?" Connie shouted.  
Armin's eyes narrowed watching the half blind girl ride into a suicide attack. Reiner kicked his horse's side violently causing the animal to whine in agony. Due to the action Reniner's horse rushes past the squad and is almost neck to neck with Layla's. Armin watched as Reiner shouted at the Slayer which just caused her crow to attack him. Armin even noticed that Layla grabbed her sword and even tried to stab Reiner once. An obvious sign for him to leave her alone. She pulled her horse away from him and was heading straight for the Titans.

Then, Armin watched in horror as she unwrapped the chains around her hip and stood up on her running horse. She threw the dagger toward a Titan and she flew into the air with her sword above her head, ready for a kill. The dagger pulled her toward one Titan's head and she spun in a circle that resembled Captain Levi's signature attack, and cut off the nape of the Titan. The Titan fell to the ground as did Layla, but she managed to fall onto the Titan's back. Armin and the others turned their heads upon seeing Ara ride up to them.

"Where's La-" she stopped speaking upon seeing her sister on top of the fallen Titan. "Layla, you idiot." She mumbled to herself and turned her attention to the squad. "Have you seen Sloane?"

Armin only shook his head, "No…sorry."  
Reiner glared at Ara with hatred in his hues, "Aren't you going to help her!?"

Ara turned her attention to the boy, "No…it is in our culturethat once a Slayer claims it is their fight….we cannot help unless asked-"  
"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" Reiner shouted, but Ara did not flinch. She only seemed extremely annoyed from the outburst.

Everyone turned their head upon hearing a Titan speed up its motion, the Titan saw Layla on the dead Titan and a smile grew on its face. It moves its hand to slap Layla on the other Titan. Layla must be smelled or heard him because she jumped out of the way, landing into the grass. Armin noticed that she was coughing up blood and struggled to get up, but she managed to stand up. Then, she threw one end of the chain at the moving Titan's leg and pulled herself to it. Then, threw the other end into its shoulder blade, pulling herself into midair. She got a clean cut of the Titan's nape and it fell beside the other. Ara's blazing blue eyes softened at the sight and gazed over at Reiner.

"Do not try to understand our culture besides…Layla has a blood oath with Sloane," Ara replied back to a fuming Reiner. The word, blood oath caused Armin to gaze over at the painted woman. Then he remembered his private chat with Layla just weeks ago.

"_We say, 'I owe you'. Warriors never say thank you, if you do me a favor I owe you with my blood. We use blood for blood if someone protects us, they used their blood to save me…I'll return the favor with my blood. A blood oath, if you will."_

Berthold had to place on Reiner's shoulder to calm him but it did not work, he was still fuming in anger.

"Layla owes Sloane with her blood," Armin whispered but everyone heard him. Ara's expression darkened from his comment.

"My, what else has Layla told you? That's correct. Sloane saved Layla during their rite of passage as children and Layla swore to return the favor, obviously by going into this fight without her sight. Blood for blood, a blood oath," Ara answered and Armin looked over to see Layla standing on the fallen Titan.

Then, Mikassa gasped causing everyone to turn their attention to where she was staring. Sloane was just a few meters away, walking over to the group. Ara jumped off her horse and walked up to Sloane. Yet, the red head was bleeding massively and her walking was swayed. Ara grabbed Sloane by her neck and glared with fire in her blazing blue eyes. Everyone only stared in horror at the women except Reiner who was keeping his gaze on Layla and the Titans.

"YOU! You got some nerve coming here after what you did to Layla and yourself!" Ara shouted, but Sloane only answered with a manic laugh. The laugh caused Ara to loosen her grip on the woman's neck.

"Ara," Sloane said with a giggle in her voice. "Don't….don't you see?" She was desperately trying to stop laughing but couldn't. Ara growled like a bear and then slapped the red head across the face, Armin could have sworn he heard bones break from the impact.

Sloane was quiet for a moment and the only noise was the sound of Titans slowly walking in the distance. Her hand reached to the touch the slap, her fingers dancing over her skin.  
"Ara," Sloane spoke in a serious tone. "Don't you see?"  
"SEE WHAT! I SEE MY BABY SISTER IS FIGHTING TITANS THAT YOU BROUGHT! TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO SEE!" Ara shouted at the red head and Sloane placed her hand over the painted woman's mouth.

"We must be eaten by Titans….to become GODS!" Sloane answered which caused everyone to turn their attention to the women and not Layla. Ara grabbed Sloane's wrist, nearly breaking it.  
"GODS!? Are you insane, they are MONSTERS!" Ara replied, keeping her firm grip on Sloane's wrist.

Sloane shook her head, "They cannot die without a hit to the nape, and they don't need to eat, or sleep, or mate to reproduce! Ara, don't you see!? Titans are greater than humans could ever hope to be. Greater than the goddess Ariadnile, greater than Masshes, even greater than the Reaper."

"Never compare Titans to our gods," Ara growled, keeping her grip on Sloane's wrist. Sloane only shook her head, disagreeing with Ara.

"If Layla become what that Eren boy is, why, Slayers could finally take what we always wanted. " Sloane whispered and it caused Armin's mind to swim with questions. Yet, he didn't have time to think because Sloane kept talking. "And that Eren boy, he is a God. A human that can turn into a Titan. Just like that female Titan we saw just a week ago. She killed so many without breaking a sweat, she was a Goddess. We must become them if we wish to survive. We must be eate-"

"SHUT UP!" Ara shouted and broke Sloane's wrist, the snapping echoed through everyone's ear. Yet, Sloane did not cry out in pain, she just laughed loudly causing Ara to remove her hand from the broken wrist. Sloane stared down at her broken wrist.

"Pain is only an illusion, it shall pass. Titans can regenerate their body parts and when I am one, my wrist will be fine. I will become a Titan…I will," Sloane's voice died down and she pushed Ara to the side. The skeleton woman only stared in horror at the woman as did the others. Sloane was walking right toward the Titans, towards three of them.

Ara just stood there and then covered her mouth with her hand. "She's gone mad," she whispered. "What happened to her?"

"You're just going to let her go to the Titans!?" Connie shouted at Ara as he watched Sloane walk over to the Titans.  
Ara nodded, keeping her bright blue eyes focused on the grass. "I want to rip her head off myself for degrading our Gods. But if I killed her myself, it would be a glory death. She deserves death of a traitor. Let those things eat her, because if they don't, I'll burn her alive myself."

Armin returned his attention towards the Titans and saw Layla extremely distressed. She was holding her face with one hand, and swaying to the side. It must be her vision is failing her. Yet, she removed her hand from her face and gazed over toward the direction of Sloane. The red head was walking toward the Titans and the monsters stared down at the red head, yet they did not notice her at first. The darkness must confuse them, and Layla used that to her advantage. She threw her chain dagger at one Titans and pulled herself toward it with incredible speed, latching onto its shoulder. She climbed up its arm, with her sword drawn. The Titan looked down to see her and she threw a small knife into its eye, causing the Titan to scream in pain. She then began to run up the arm and once she reached the nape, she cut it with ease, sending the Titan to the ground.

However, Armin heard a scream from Layla as she held her face with her hand. It caused Reiner to grip to his horse's reigns. Layla must have been in extreme pain because one Titan heard her scream and moved its hand to slap her, like a common bug. Layla jumped out of the way in time but her legs were caught in the impact. That was when Reiner kicked his horse's side, rushing toward her.

"REINER!" Berthold shouted but the blonde ignored him.

Reiner saw the dark headed woman struggling in the Titan's grip, yet, she managed to cut off its fingers with her sword. Once he reached her, he jumped off his horse and grabbed his sword, cutting off the Titan's wrist. He then picked her up with ease, holding her close to his chest, and got back onto his horse. The horse started running back to the squad and he felt Layla struggle in his grip.

"You, don't smell familiar," she mumbled, coughing up some blood from her lips. "You smell like Titan shit…."  
"Stop talking, you're in pain." He replied and when he spoke, her blind eyes looked up at him. Her hands gripped to his chest.  
"You're a wall dweller piece of shit," she shouted and punched his chest, extremely hard. "Let me go wall dweller! I have to save Sloane! Let. Me. GO!"  
"No!" Reiner replied causing the girl to blink multiple times up at him, in confusion.  
"You don't order me, boy." She spoke so softly the words so quietly that he barley even heard them, "WE'RE GOING BACK!" She then grabbed his hands and violently pulled the reigns over the left, causing the horse to turn around.

Reiner desperately tried to take back control but she was like a rock, refusing to budge.

"Do you want to die!? You can't even see!" He shouted at her and she gazed over at him with her blazing white hues.  
"I made a blood oath with her. I save her or it is my blood. I wouldn't except a wall dweller to understand our ways," she answered calmly and it caused Reiner to growl to himself. "Listen boy, once we are in the Titans position and I'm going to jump. Then, you can run away with your tail behind your legs."  
"You can't take them both!" Reiner commented and he gazed to the side to see one Titan who spotted Sloane. "It's suicide!"

Layla ignored his warning and threw one end of her chain at a Titan. When the dagger pierced the skin, she pulled herself to the monster. Reiner cursed to himself but she was fast, she spun in a circle and cut off the nap of the Titan. The Titan fell with Layla on its shoulder, creating a loud THUMP as it did. Layla looked over to see the last Titan had Sloane in its hand, yet the red head did not grab her weapons or try to escape. Without thinking twice, Layla threw the end of her chain at the Titan and her white hues were blazing like a blizzard. She pulled herself to the Titan but it was too late, the Titan took a bite out of Sloane's lower body causing blood to fall on Layla's face.

The squad could hear Layla's scream from their distance. It was a scream of agony and hatred mixed together to give a horrifying war cry. Layla attacked the Titan with such speed it was hard to keep their eyes on her. She ran her sword across the Titan's face, blinding it. The Titan released Sloane but Layla managed to swing down to catch her. The two girls fell to the ground and Armin saw that Sloane was missing her legs, blood coating the grass below. Reiner rode over to them, jumped off his horse and tried to help Layla up but she shoved him away.

"Take her," Layla breathed to Reiner, blood was falling from her lips and nose from her fight with the Titans. "Protect her, wall dweller."

Reiner narrowed his eyes at the dark haired woman, "You need to come too, you're injured."

Layla only shook her head, "I'm killing this son of a bitch, get out of here."

She then stood up but whined in pain due to the pain in her legs. She forgot that a Titan was nearly crushing her moments ago. Yet, hatred and anger overtook her body and she threw her chain at the blinded Titan. Reiner picked up Sloane, holding her over his shoulder and he watched the woman attack the Titan. She refused to just kill it. She dug its sword into its head causing the Titan to scream in torture. Then, she grabbed something from her pocket of her armor and it was a box of matches. She lit a match and dropped it onto the ground, causing a flame to engulf the Titan. The Titan only screamed in pain as the fire engulfed its body. Layla was standing in front of the fire, her hands gripped to her sword. The Titan kept screaming in pain from the burns but Layla only stood there, watching it. The fire began to die down and she threw her chain at the Titan's shoulder, pulling herself to it. She then moved behind it, cutting off its nape. Finally, killing it.

Layla landed on the ground beside it and began to walk over to Reiner, but pure exhaustion and pain overtook her body, causing her to collapse on the ground. Armin and Ara rode their horses to the girl and Reiner was standing over her with Sloane on his shoulders. Ara jumped off her horse and ran over to Layla, picking her up.

"Layla…LAYLA!" Ara shouted causing the Layla to groan in pain. She threw Layla over her shoulder and looked over at Reiner and Armin.

Layla's dark hair fell over her shoulder, caressing her back. "Ara..." she whispered up to her sister causing the skeleton woman to gaze down at her. "Ara...is Sloane safe?"

Ara kept a tight grip on Layla and her gauntlet fingers dug into her shoulder blade.  
"Yeah," Ara mumbled and gazed over to Sloane. "The traitor is okay...for now."  
"Good," Layla breathed.

"Follow me to the hideout," Ara commanded and Armin only nodded. He couldn't help but to look over at Sloane, who's eyes were dull. Almost as if she was dead. Yet, her eyes were staring at Layla.


	8. Proper Death

_Don't want to let it lay me down this time.  
__Drown my will to fly.  
__Here in the darkness I know myself.  
__Can't break free until I let it go.  
__Let me go._

_Darling, I forgive you... After all,  
__Anything is better than to be alone.  
__And in the end I guess I had to fall.  
__Always find my place among the ashes._

_I can't hold on to me,  
__Wonder what's wrong with me._

_Lithium, don't want to lock me up inside.  
__Lithium, don't want to forget how it feels without...  
__Lithium, ...stay in love with you.  
__I'm gonna let it go_."  
-Lithium, Evanescence

* * *

Within the abounded mill farm, the smell of blood and death engulfed the house. Ara and Reiner managed to carry the wounded women into the main entrance of the house. Reiner placed Layla onto the floor, carefully. Berthold and Armin were close at Reiner side as he studied her wounds with a concerned expression. She looked completely defeated, her face is extremely pale and the circle made of blood on the left side of her face has smeared down her cheeks. Ara kept her grip on Sloane, and her legs were pouring out blood by the moment.

"Ara," Layla mumbled up to her sister, causing the woman to look down. "Tend to Sloane, don't-" she had to stopped speaking to spit up blood. "…worry about me."

Ara stared down at her half-blind sister and nodded. Mikassa gazed over at Ara, "Let me help you tend to the wounds." Ara only stared at the girl but finally agreed. Ara looked over at the squad, "Heal my sister. If she dies, you all die in the worst way I can imagine." She walked into a bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

Armin kneeled down beside Layla, who was breathing deeply, staring up at the ceiling. Connie walked in front of her, holding her head up in case she began to spit up blood again. Berthold looked over at Reiner who was tearing at the hem of his shirt with brute force. He managed to rip off some fabric and pressed it against her wounds, hoping to stop the blood. He noticed the left side of her body was wounded as well and he looked over at her. "I need to remove your armor."

Layla gazed over at him, "Fine. Just don't stare at my tits."

Reiner began to unsnap her armor hooks and managed to take off the chest place, exposing her bandaged body. Her left side of her body was bleeding as well and bruised as well. It probably happened when the Titan had her pinned to the ground during the fight. Reiner was mumbling to himself as he kept his pressure on her wound.

Berthold only stared at Reiner, "We don't even know her-"  
"SHUT UP!" Reiner shouted at him, causing the brunette to lower his head. Berthold walked to Layla's side and noticed her shoulder was dislocated, as did Armin.

"Layla," Armin whispered causing the girl to gaze to the side. "Your shoulder…." He couldn't even finish his sentence but her eyes stayed focused on him.

"Put it back into place," she spoke simply causing everyone to grow silent.

"It…it will be extremely painful," Armin commented as he stared at her arm.

"I've been through worse, wall dweller." She replied with such honesty it made Armin wonder what she had been through.

Armin looked over at Berthold, who nodded at the blonde. "I'll snap it back into place," Berthold mumbled and gently held Layla's limp arm in his hands. His hands moved up to her shoulder and he could feel how limp she was. He shallower a lump in his throat and gazed down at her. Her white hues stared up at him and she nodded. Berthold managed to snap her shoulder back into place but her screams engulfed the room, and her hand gripped tightly to Berthold's wrist, nearly breaking it. Yet, he kept the pressure on her shoulder and her breathing slowly returned to normal. She rested her head back into Connie's hands, keeping her gaze on the ceiling.

"The blood is slowing down," Reiner spoke to her but she did not answer.

The room was quiet until a scream was heard from the bedroom next to them. Layla tried to sit up but Reiner eased her back down, but she kept her head up, gazing at the bedroom door.

"Sloane," she mumbled and tried to sit up once again but Armin gently placed his hands onto her shoulders.

"Layla, you need rest. I'm sure Ara and Mikasa are helping her." He desperately tried to reassure her, but she kept her eyes on the door. Finally, she leaned back down into Connie's hands and closed her eyes tightly, letting out an exhausted sigh.

Armin left her to find some materials; he managed to find a blanket underneath a chair in the living room. He returned and made an arm brace for Layla's shoulder, to ensure her shoulder to stay in place. Layla only nodded at him, because 'thank you' does not exist in a Slayler's vocabulary. Reiner removed the cloth from Layla's wound, the once white cloth is covered in her blood but he did not notice. The blood finally stopped.

The house was completely silent until Layla stood up, she swayed to the side once but managed to gain composure once again. She ran a hand through her long black hair, pushing it behind her shoulder.

"You shouldn't be standing," Armin declared but she shrugged off his comment.

"I'm stronger than you. I'm fine," she replied but coughed up a little blood, wiping it away with the back of her hand.

The door to the bedroom opened and Mikasa walked out. Layla walked over to her and gazed into the room.

"How is she?" Layla questioned Mikasa causing the girl to lower her eyes. Layla noticed that her hands were covered in blood. She just walked past Layla causing her to walk into the bedroom, but Ara met her at the door frames.

"Layla, we need to talk." Ara commented and Layla pushed at Ara's chest with her free hand.  
"Let me see her!" She shouted at Ara but the skeleton woman only shook her head.  
"It's bad Layla. Mikasa and I had to remove her legs." Ara stopped speaking so her words could sink into Layla's sink. The dark headed girl only shook her head and her free hand gripped to her dark armor. " The Titan broke so many bones and they were barley attached to the muscles. Without legs she is useless to us. I must ask you-"  
"No Ara," Layla's voice was breaking. She had such a strong manner but now, it is like she is having to watch her family be tortured in front of her. "You **cannot **ask me to do this."

"Do what?" Armin questioned but the women ignored him.

Ara had a sword in her hand. It was curved at the hem and looked extremely powerful. She placed it in Layla's gloved hand. "She asked for it to be by her sword and she wants you to have it. She wants you to do it. It would make sense for you, since you wanted her to survive."

"Ara," Layla whispered, keeping her eyes on the woman. "Don't make me…."

Ara stepped closer to Layla, "Suck it up Layla! You're the strongest warrior the Slayers have. It is time for you to do the greatest horror any Slayer could ask for. Be strong, out of all the people in our society, I never thought you would be weak at a moment like this. You're being a child. Remember who you are. You aren't a coward!"

The words must have stung Layla's pride because her fingers gripped to the curved hem of the sword. She nodded her head once and walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind her softly.

Armin stared at the door and then the realization of the situation hit him. He shook his head, telling himself mentally they would never do such a thing. But, he has to know. "Is she…going…to kill her?" He questioned the woman. Everyone gazed over to Ara with questionable looks upon their faces.

Ara stared over at him for a long time but then nodded. "Yes. It is our way."

Connie walked over the woman and shook his head. "That is….barbaric and sick. You're a monster!"

Ara ignored Connie's outburst and walked over to a chair, sitting down on it. She pulled out her iron mace, placing it onto the floor and placed her hands upon the handle. "What is worse? To be eaten by a Titan or to be euthanized by someone who cares about you?"

Her question caused Armin's mind to spin. She had a point, a point he never thought about it. Everyone was silent for a moment and that is when Ara continued to speak.

"You wall dwellers let your morals get the best of you. You'd rather watch someone you respect die a slowly, painful death than to take their life yourself. You're the monsters if you ask me." Ara's fingers tapped at the hem of her weapon. "Your kind is pathetic, letting your own get eaten and then get scared shitless seeing a Titan. It should make you want to fight, not run away like a dog with its tail between its legs."

Connie lowered his head, and turned his back to the woman. Everyone turned their head when the bedroom door opened and Layla stepped into the room. The sword was coated in blood and she had a small journal the arm brace.

"Is it done?" Ara questioned and Layla nodded.

"She didn't feel a thing, I made sure of it." Layla responded with such a cold voice, it caused a shiver to run down Armin's spine.

Ara looked over to Layla and spotted the notepad in her arm brace. "What's that?"

"Sloane's log ," Layla simply said, but obviously there was importance to it because Ara stared at Layla for a long time and Layla returned to gaze with a blood chilling look.

Ara looked away and stood up. "I'll get her body and we will do a proper burial. Go wash up, you look like shit."

Layla only nodded her head and Ara walked into the bedroom. Layla gazed at the sword and then walked toward the front door; she opened it and gently closed it behind her.

"They're right," Armin whispered causing everyone to look over at him. "We are pathetic if we can't kill the ones we love if they are dying."


End file.
